OpenClaw Kit — Complete Guide 2026

The OpenClaw Kit is everything you need to build, deploy, and scale AI agent workflows. I've been running OpenClaw on my Mac mini for months—here's exactly what's included, how to set it up, and real examples of what you can automate.

What Exactly Is the OpenClaw Kit?

The OpenClaw Kit isn't a single download—it's a curated collection of tools, skills, MCP servers, and configurations that turn OpenClaw from a basic AI assistant into a production-ready automation platform. Think of it as the "Homebrew for AI agents."

When I first set up OpenClaw, I spent weeks figuring out which skills worked together, which MCP servers were stable, and how to structure projects. The OpenClaw Kit packages all those learnings into a ready-to-run system.

Core Components

1. Base OpenClaw Installation

The foundation is OpenClaw itself—the AI agent framework that runs on Node.js. Here's the exact setup I use:

# Install OpenClaw globally
npm install -g @openclaw/cli

# Initialize your workspace
openclaw init --workspace ~/.openclaw/workspace

# Verify installation
openclaw --version
openclaw gateway status

The kit includes pre-configured openclaw.json with optimized settings for memory management, tool execution, and model routing.

2. Essential Skills (Pre-installed)

These are the skills I use daily. Each has been tested and configured:

• GitHub Skill — Full GitHub API access for PRs, issues, CI runs
• Google Workspace Skill — Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs (OAuth pre-configured)
• Slack Skill — Team communication and channel management
• Weather Skill — Real-time weather data via wttr.in
• 1Password Skill — Secure credential management
• Coding Agent Skill — Delegate complex coding tasks to specialized agents
• Booth Beacon Crawler — Photo booth management and monitoring

Each skill includes its SKILL.md with usage examples and configuration notes.

3. MCP Server Integrations

Model Context Protocol servers extend OpenClaw's capabilities. The kit includes:

# Example MCP server configuration in openclaw.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "github": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@modelcontextprotocol/server-github", "--token", "YOUR_GITHUB_TOKEN_HERE"]
    },
    "filesystem": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@modelcontextprotocol/server-filesystem", "--directory", "/Users/jkw/Projects"]
    },
    "sqlite": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@modelcontextprotocol/server-sqlite", "--db", "~/data/automation.db"]
    }
  }
}

4. Tooling and Utilities

• ClawHub CLI — Discover and install community skills
• Git pre-push hooks — Automatic build verification
• Serialized git push script — Prevent race conditions in automation
• Cron job manager — Schedule recurring agent tasks
• Health check scripts — Monitor system status

Step-by-Step Installation

Here's the exact sequence I follow when setting up a new OpenClaw Kit instance:

Step 1: Clone the Kit Repository

# Clone the kit
git clone https://github.com/visitingmedia/openclaw-kit.git ~/.openclaw/kit

# Navigate to kit directory
cd ~/.openclaw/kit

# Run the setup script
./setup.sh

The setup script will:

1. Install OpenClaw CLI globally
2. Create workspace directory structure
3. Install all essential skills via ClawHub
4. Configure MCP servers
5. Set up cron jobs for maintenance tasks

Step 2: Configure Authentication

The kit includes template files for all required credentials:

# Copy credential templates
cp ~/.openclaw/kit/templates/CREDENTIALS.md.template ~/.openclaw/workspace/CREDENTIALS.md

# Edit with your actual credentials
nano ~/.openclaw/workspace/CREDENTIALS.md

# Set file permissions
chmod 600 ~/.openclaw/workspace/CREDENTIALS.md

Step 3: Verify Installation

# Start the gateway
openclaw gateway start

# Check status
openclaw gateway status

# Test a skill
openclaw exec --skill github -- "list my open PRs"

Real Automation Workflows

Here are actual workflows I run daily with the OpenClaw Kit:

Morning Routine Automation

# Cron job that runs at 8 AM daily
{
  "name": "morning-briefing",
  "schedule": {
    "kind": "cron",
    "expr": "0 8 * * *",
    "tz": "America/Los_Angeles"
  },
  "payload": {
    "kind": "agentTurn",
    "message": "Generate morning briefing: 1) Check calendar for today's meetings 2) Check email for urgent messages 3) Check GitHub for PRs needing review 4) Get weather forecast 5) Summarize overnight content performance"
  },
  "sessionTarget": "isolated",
  "delivery": {
    "mode": "announce",
    "channel": "slack:daily-briefings"
  }
}

Content Production Pipeline

This workflow automatically generates and publishes blog content:

# Content generation script included in the kit
#!/bin/bash
# ~/.openclaw/kit/scripts/generate-content.sh

# 1. Analyze GSC data for topic opportunities
python3 ~/.openclaw/kit/tools/analyze-gsc.py

# 2. Generate article outline
openclaw exec --skill oracle -- "Generate outline for article about: $TOPIC"

# 3. Write full article
openclaw exec --skill coding-agent -- "Write 2000-word article on $TOPIC for theopenclawtoolkit.com"

# 4. Build and deploy
cd ~/openclaw-toolkit
npm run build
bash ~/.openclaw/kit/scripts/git-push-serialized.sh origin main

# 5. Amplify on social
bash ~/.openclaw/kit/scripts/x-post-and-amplify.sh "$ARTICLE_TITLE"

Common Issues and Solutions

Issue 1: Gateway Won't Start

Symptoms: openclaw gateway start fails or hangs

Solution: Check port conflicts and permissions:

# Check if port 3000 is in use
lsof -i :3000

# Kill conflicting process if needed
kill -9 $(lsof -t -i :3000)

# Check OpenClaw config permissions
ls -la ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json
chmod 600 ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json

# Restart gateway
openclaw gateway restart

Issue 2: Skills Not Loading

Symptoms: Skills appear in list but return "skill not found" errors

Solution: Verify skill installation and paths:

# List installed skills
openclaw skills list

# Check skill directory
ls -la ~/.openclaw/skills/

# Reinstall missing skill
clawhub install github --force

# Reload gateway
openclaw gateway restart

Issue 3: MCP Server Connection Failures

Symptoms: "Failed to connect to MCP server" errors

Solution: Check server configuration and dependencies:

# Test MCP server directly
npx @modelcontextprotocol/server-github --token $GITHUB_TOKEN --health

# Check OpenClaw MCP config
cat ~/.openclaw/openclaw.json | grep -A5 "mcpServers"

# Update npm packages
npm update -g @modelcontextprotocol/server-*

Advanced Customization

Adding Custom Skills

The kit makes it easy to add your own skills. Here's the template structure:

# Create new skill directory
mkdir -p ~/.openclaw/skills/my-custom-skill

# Create SKILL.md
cat > ~/.openclaw/skills/my-custom-skill/SKILL.md << 'EOF'
# my-custom-skill

## Description
My custom automation skill

## Usage
- Do X with Y
- Configure Z setting

## Configuration
Add to openclaw.json skills list

## Examples
```bash
openclaw exec --skill my-custom-skill -- "do something"
```
EOF

# Register skill
openclaw skills register ~/.openclaw/skills/my-custom-skill

Creating Custom MCP Servers

Extend OpenClaw with your own MCP servers:

# Use the MCP server template from the kit
cp ~/.openclaw/kit/templates/mcp-server.js ~/Projects/my-mcp-server/

# Install dependencies
cd ~/Projects/my-mcp-server
npm init -y
npm install @modelcontextprotocol/sdk

# Implement your tools
# ... (server implementation)

# Test locally
node server.js --port 3001

# Add to OpenClaw config
# Add to mcpServers in openclaw.json

Frequently Asked Questions

Next Steps

Now that you understand what's in the OpenClaw Kit, here's how to get started:

1. 1Clone the kit repository from GitHub
2. 2Run the setup script and follow interactive prompts
3. 3Configure your credentials in CREDENTIALS.md
4. 4Test with the verification commands
5. 5Start with a simple automation workflow and expand from there